A SPARTAN's Secret
by NoahRoanSeville
Summary: A young SPARTAN-III faces his inner demons.
1. Chapter 1

"Lieutenant Commander Austin, there's a problem down at the deserted farmland on Reach." A young Cadet reported. The UNSC Infinity's 2nd in Command pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Sergeant Saint, I presume?" He asked.

"Affirmative, sir. The Sergeant overheard about the Covenant forces landing there and took a drop pod down." The Cadet replied. Austin sighed. Saint, or Noah Roan to give his real name, was a Grade 2 Sergeant and a SPARTAN-III whose stubbornness was a source of great annoyance to Austin. He had a very bad habit of taking on Covenant soldiers by himself. It was a miracle that the guy hadn't been killed. Austin turned to his best friend and roommate Simon, a towering Spartan-IV decked in blue armor.

"Si, I'm kind of busy up here. Could you fetch Saint for me?" He asked. The SPARTAN nodded.

"I just hope he hasn't bitten off more than he could chew." He said.

-

Noah laughed as he mowed down three Grunts with his AR. "Triple kill for the Saint! Suddenly, he heard a growl behind him. Whipping out the fuel rod gun he had taken from a fallen Hunter, he shot and killed an Elite that was trying to hide behind the trees. "Sneaky thug. But not sneaky enough." The SPARTAN-III sneered. His maps alerted him that a couple more Jackals were trying to shoot him from their post by the river.

"Piece of cake." Noah shrugged. The SPARTAN quietly snuck down to the river, thanks in part to his agility, but mostly because his forest green EOD armor camouflaged him perfectly. Coming up to one of the large rocks by the river, Noah scanned his surroundings. Two Jackals were standing at the water's edge, probably waiting to ambush the young soldier.

"Tough luck, suckers. Looks like your chances of winning this fight are...shot to pieces." Noah chuckled at his own pun as he loaded his AR. But before the 18-year-old could unleash his fury, he noticed a UNSC drop pod falling from the sky. Noah groaned.

"Perfect. Someone's trying to steal my kills." The drop pod landed in the river, scaring the crap out of the Jackals, who bolted. The drop pod burst open and a tall SPARTAN-IV in blue armor stepped out. Noah popped up from behind his hiding spot.

"What the heck, dude? I was about to blast those beasts!" He exclaimed. The SPARTAN-IV removed his helmet, revealing the dark brown hair and bright blue eyes of Simon.

"Sergeant, the Lieutenant Commander orders you to return to the Infinity. You aren't authorized for this mission." The tall SPARTAN ordered.

"Maybe not, but I'm doing a lot better than those rookies that were authorized." Noah shot back.

"May I remind you, Saint, that you were a rookie once yourself?"

"Yeah, and I was also second best on my fireteam. But those days are over. Now I work solo, no matter what the half-pint higher-up says." Simon's anger rose, but he kept it in check.

"I don't appreciate your choice of words towards the Lieutenant Commander. Now haul your EOD-plated butt back to the ship before I have you arrested for disobeying orders." Simon threatened. Noah huffed and followed the blue-clad SPARTAN.

-

"Half-pint higher-up? He actually said that?" Austin asked in disbelief. Simon nodded.

"And he said it with such anger. I wonder what's eating the guy?" Simon wondered. Austin looked at his friend.

"You didn't by chance bring up his rookie days, did you?" The SPARTAN-II asked. Simon nodded, then raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Austin sighed. "Simon, have you ever heard of a soldier that went by the name Angel?" He asked. Simon nodded again.

"A very smart, very strategic cadet. She was KIA on her first mission as a recruit. But what's that got to do with Saint?"

"Well, Angel's real name was Emily Roan. She was Saint's twin sister. The day she died, Saint went after an Elite because he felt that the Grunts were too easy. He would've been killed if his sister hadn't stepped in. She died saving his life. Ever since, Saint's been a solo player." Austin explained.

"And you think that his stubborn need to fight solo has to do with his sister's death?" Simon asked.

"I don't think. I know. Problem is that Saint's so secretive and reserved that he won't talk about it."

"I'll find a way to get him to talk, Austin. We SPARTAN-IV's can be persuasive." Simon smiled.

"Just be careful, Si. Saint may be a SPARTAN-III, but he has quite a temper." Austin warned.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Simon saw Noah, wearing a green t-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers, heading for the firing range with his AR. Simon noticed that this was the first time he'd seen the Sergeant without his armor. He was thin, but still had a little muscle on him, probably a result of his training. He had short, regulation-obeying blonde hair, piercing green eyes, and very pale skin. Simon decided that now was a good time to talk to the young SPARTAN-III before he went off on one of his tangents again. "Sergeant, wait up!" Simon called. Noah turned his head.

"What do you want, Simon? I gotta practice my shooting for my next mission."

Simon rolled his eyes. "You mean your next unauthorized tangent."

Noah shrugged. "Call it what you want, but with the way I do things, there are less casualties, therefore, there are more soldiers for the really big missions."

"That might be true, but you're also disobeying orders and making the UNSC Infinity look bad. What would Angel think of that?" Simon asked. Noah's fists clenched. How did Simon know about his sister? The only people he told were Commander Palmer... and Lieutenant Commander Austin. The LIeutenant Commander must've told Simon, that backstabbing SPARTAN shrimp!

"How the hell would you know what my sister thinks? You didn't know her. You didn't grow up with her. You didn't watch her die." Noah growled.

"That's true, but I did watch her progress in battle. Yours too. The both of you worked well together. You were strategic when you needed to be, merciful when you chose to be, and swift when you wanted to be. Then Angel died and you went rogue." Simon recalled.

"You'll never understand it, Simon. She wasn't just my sister. She was my twin sister. Twins have a bond stronger than normal siblings. When one is gone, the other feels like something is missing. Like a part of them is gone. After Emily died, I felt too scared to cooperate again. I didn't want more innocent blood on my hands."

Simon raised an eyebrow. "More innocent blood?"

"Emily's death was my fault. I was reckless and decided to go after an Elite by myself. I thought that the Grunts were too easy. Dumb move on my part. The Elite almost killed me, but then Emily shot in in the arm. It turned her attention on her. She looked at me one last time and told me to run. Then..." Noah turned away, not wanting Simon to see his tears.

"She put up a good fight. But in the end, the Elite got her with that Energy sword." Simon finished.

Noah turned his head. "Happy now? You know how my sister died. And it was my fault. That's why I fight solo." With that, he walked off.

-

"He blames himself for his sister's death? That's why he fights alone?" Austin asked when Simon had reported what he had learned.

"Yup. He says he doesn't want anymore innocent blood on his hands, which is why he fights solo." Simon replied. Suddenly, an alarm went off, its glow bathing the entire Infinity in it's red light.

"What's going on?!" Austin demanded. Captain Thomas Lasky's rushed into the room.

"A sole Elite is down on the planet's surface. It's battered, scarred, and missing an eye. I'm pretty sure it's the same Elite that killed Recruit Angel a few years back."

Austin's eyes widened. "Saint... is he...?"

"Already planetside. He's got his AR, 4 grenades, and his fuel rod gun." Lasky reported.

"That idiot! He'll get killed!" Simon exclaimed.

"No, he won't. Simon, Capt. Lasky, you two will come with me. We're going to help our brother-in-arms." Austin ordered.


End file.
